Hatch cover operating device



June 14, 1949.

C. R. HAMILTON HATCH COVER OPERATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1946 June 14, 1949. c. R. HAMILTON' HATCH COVER OPERATING DEVICE Ifiled Feb. 15, 1946 2 Sheets-Shet 2' INVEIYTOR.

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Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED STATES.

ATENT OFFICE.

HATCH COVER OPERATING DEVICE Glarence R. Hamilton, Rosevil-le, Calif.

Application February 13, 1946, Serial No. 647,311

4 Claims; 1'

My invention relates to improvements in devices for supporting a refrigerator car hatch cover inpartially or fully opened position for the purpose of' ventilating the interior of the car.

Refrigerator carsare now provided with a plurali ty of hatch openings through the roof thereof through which the refrigerant is loaded into the car. Said hatches are provided with covers for closing said hatches when desired, and such covers also prevent entrance of undesirable foreign matter into the car. Someof said cars are provided with devices for supporting the hatch coversin' partially or fully opened position for thepurposeof ventilating said cars while in transit;

A specific object of my invention is to providesuch a hatch cover operating device which may be operated with one hand bythe' trainman.

Another object is to provide such a hatch cover operating device having an operating handle which when raised holds the associated elements of said device in such relation to each other that the cover may be freely raisedby lifting said handie, and so that after the cover is raised and the handle is released, the device automatically functions to maintain said cover in said" raised and ventilating position.

A further object is toprovide such a hatch cover operating device whereby when the cover is in raised positiona slight rai'sing of said handle releases said mechanism so that the cover may freely close.

In some cases a gasket used between the hatch frame and cover and another object is to provide. such a device with means: to limit the downward; movement of the cover onsaid gasket.

In. the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a hatch cover and associated parts: embodying my invention when the cover is in closed position.

Figure 2 is: similar to Figure l, but shows the cover in open position for ventilation.

Figure 3- is a partial plan view of Figure Referring to the drawings, a, portion of a railway refrigerator car roof is indicated at i, it being adjacent a hatch opening, a portion of the frame for said opening. being. indicated at 2. A hatch cover is indicated at 3 for normally closing said opening, said cover being; hinged at 4 tothe car roof. I. A gasket I15 ispreferably" used between the cover 3. and. hatch frame 2; Adjacent said hatch is mounted upon said roof i an upstanding bracket indicated. generally at 5 and comprising a. base plate 6, rivet'ed, as: at l', to the roof sheet I. 'Apair. of spaced, parallelupstand ing inclined walls 8 and 9: project upwardly" from said plate 6, to which they are secured, the upper portionsof'which are cut away or stepped forming a shoulder or stop-surface ill, the remainder of said wall continuing upwardly and terminating in a semicircular or arcuate contour, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Between these upstanding walls'8 and 9' and in the plane of" the shoulder l0 extends a member H secured to said walls and forming a sort of shelf therebetween.

Also: between the upper part of said walls there is shown one end of a lever or bar l2 pivoted thereto, as at l3. This bar is elongated and curved slightly at its pivoted end and one edge thereof is of irregular contour preferably having a plurality of irregularly spaced notches M in said edge with outwardly curved portions therebetween, the purpose of which will appear later;

To the outer edge of the cover 3', preferably 0pposite to its hinged edge, I. have secured thereto, as" by rivets 28', a bracket base 2!, said base and cover being flanged to overlap the outer walls of the hatch frame 2' and close down upon the gasket l5 therebetween for sealing said hatch opening. Secured to said base 2| are a pair of upstanding parallel spaced walls 22 and 23, they extending laterally beyond the edge of said cover, one upon either side of said ventilating bar l2, or in other words, the bar I! extends from its pivotal mounting upwardly between said walls 22 and 23. Extending between the upper outer corners of said walls 22 and 23 is a narrow bar 24 and also extending between said walls adjacent the base thereof is a pin 29, the purpose of both of which will appear later. The walls 22 and 23 are spaced substantially the same distance apart as the walls 8 and 9 and project thereover and may rest thereupon when the cover is in closed position, as shown in Figure 3. Wings 25 and 26 project laterally from the lower edges of walls 22 and 23, respectively, the outer ends of said wings being arcuate so as to fit and rest upon the arcuate upper end of walls 8 and ii when the cover is closed, said wings amply compensating for the difference in spacing between walls2'2' and 23 and 8 and 9' and insure either the walls 22 and 23 or wings 25 and 26 resting upon walls 8 and 9 when cover is closed. Wings 25 and 26 extend inwardly somewhat so as to also extend laterally over lateral projections 27 and 28 from opposite sides of lever l2 adjacent its pivotal mounting [3. Thus when the free end of lever I2 is raised projections 27 and 28 engage wings 25' and 26 and thereby pry the cover loose from the hatch frame, should it be frozen shut, for example.

Between the outer free ends of walls 22 and 23 there is shown pivoted, as at 39, adjacent its inner end a combined handle and pawl member 3|, the handle portion 32 of which projects outwardly and is laterally ofiset, as seen in Figure 1. In the normal closed position of the cover, the pawl portion 33 rests upon the shelf member ll. Handle portion 32 extends materially outwardly of pivot point 38 thereby providing ample counterweight to insure that pawl portion 33 is always in position to engage the nearest notch M or shelf member ll below and thus prevent further downward movement of said cover. The overbalancin weight of handle portion 32 causes the inner edges 34 of the pawl portion 33 to slide against the outer irregular surface 35 of the bar l2 so as to always be in position for engagement with any notch l4 therein. Thus the pivotal movement of bar I2 is limited between pin 29 and pawl 33, as the cover is swung on its pivot point 4. Bar 24 acts as a stop for the upward pivotal movement of handle 32 and, when a trainman raises said handle 32 until stop 24 is engaged, surface 34 has moved away from surface 35 and stop 24 also prevents surfaces 34a from engaging said surface 35 so that a further lifting of handle 32 will raise the cover and pin 29 being under bar I2 will swing said bar l2 keeping the irregular edge 35 thereof adjacent pawl 33 so that when handle 32 is released pawl 33 will engage the next lower notch l4 and hold cover in that position.

To lock the cover in any selected elevated position I have provided a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes 49 in the web of said bar l2. Also there is provided a pair of spaced holes M and 42 in each of the walls 22 and 23, said holes registering, horizontally with each other, for reception of the J-shaped lockin member 43. The longer lug 44 is installed within the opposed holes 4| under the bar [2 and near its free end is provided with a stop 45 so that said locking member 43 cannot become disengaged from said holes 4!.

The shorter leg 46 of said member 43 is insertable through said registering holes 42 and selectively through any of said holes 40 when a key may be inserted through the keyway 41 to hold said leg 45 from being accidentally withdrawn from said holes. Instead of a key a regular car seal may be used if desired. When the cover is to be lowered, for example, the key is withdrawn from keyway 41, the member 43 withdrawn until leg 46 is out of holes 42 and 40 when the cover may drop down against the hatch frame gaskets. If the cover should not completely close, the bar l2 may be manually pushed downwardly which will cause it to bear downwardly on pin 29 and thus forcibly close the cover upon the gasket so that pawl 33 is also in engagement with shelf l l and wings 25 and 26 are in engagement with walls 8 and 9 and projections 26 and 28, as shown in Figure 2, in which position the cover is completely closed, and leg 46 of member 43 may be reinserted in holes 42 and hole 46 of bar to lock the cover in closed and sealed position.

The handle 32 of the pawl member 3! is preferably oiiset from the pawl part thereof and from the longitudinal axis of the bar I2 so that if the hatch cover 3 is thrown back upon the roof for icing and the bar 12 is left standing in upright position and whil the bar is in this position the hatch cover 3 is thrown to closed po- .4 sition, the pawl handle 32 will not hit the bar l2 and be broken or bent by the impact. Such bending may cause the pawl to become inoperative. In other words, the handle 32 of the pawl 3| is not in the path of movement of the bar.

Thus I have provided a simple hatch cover device easily operable with one hand by a trainman.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a railway car having a hatch in the roof thereof and a cover for said hatch hinged to said roof; a base member secured to said roof adjacent said hatch and having a shoulder projecting laterally therefrom to form a rest for the hereinafter mentioned pawl when said cover is lowered, spaced walls secured to said cover adjacent said base member and extending in overlapping relation therewith when said cover is in closed position, said walls having registering spaced openings therethrough, wings extending laterally from said overlapping portion of said walls, an elongated bar pivotally mounted at one end to said base member and having a plurality of spaced transverse openings therethrough selectively registerable with certain of said openings through said walls, an edge of said bar having a plurality of spaced notches formed therein, lugs projecting laterally from said bar in engagement with said wings when said cover is closed, a J-shaped looking pin, one leg of which is insertable through a pair of said registering holes in said spaced walls below said elongated bar and the other leg of which pin being insertable through another pair of said registering holes in said spaced walls and also through one of said openings in said bar to thereby lock said cover in a selected position, a holding member pivoted between said walls above said bar and having a, pawl portion selectively engageable with any of said notches or said shoulder to stop the lowering movement of said hatch cover, said holding member also having a laterally offset handle portion to provide a weight to bias said pawl member into engagement with a notch or said shoulder and also to provide a handle for manipulating the device.

2. A device for operating a, railway car hatch cover comprising a bracket having spaced Walls secured to a car roof adjacent said hatch cover and having a laterally projecting stop surface, a bar pivotally mounted at one end to said bracket between the walls thereof, spaced walls secured to said cover adjacent and overlapping said bracket when the cover is closed; a combined handle and pawl member pivotally mounted between the walls of said cover adjacent said bar so as to move with said cover, said pawl portion of said member selectively engageable with said laterally projecting stop surface or said bar to hold said cover in a predetermined position, said handle portion being ofiset and extending outwardly and laterally from said bracket providing means for manually operating said cover and providing an overbalancing weight to bias said pawl portion toward engagement with said stop surface or said bar.

3. A device for operating a railway car hinged hatch cover, said device comprising a bar pivotally attached to the car and having a notch therein, a bracket secured to said hatch cover straddling said bar, means on said bracket to swing said bar when the door is raised, and a pawl member pivoted to said bracket, said pawl member having a laterally offset outwardly extending portion forming a handle, said bracket provided with a stop in the path of upward movement of said member so that'when said cover is in closed position and said handle portion is raised said member engages said stop to maintain clearance between said member and said bar so that said cover may be raised to open position and simultaneously swing said bar therewith and whereby when said handle portion is released the overbalancing weight of said handle portion causes the pawl portion to dropin the path of and engage the notch of said bar and hold said cover in open position.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3 including a hatch frame, a gasket between said hatch frame and said cover. and a bracket having a laterally projecting stop surface adapted to be engaged by said pawl portion to limit the downward movement of said cover on said gasket.

CLARENCE R. HAMILTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,473,655 Sweeley Nov. 13, 1923 1,567,671 Nystrom Dec. 29, 1925 1,574,777 Wine Mar. 2, 1926 2,231,885 Christy Feb. 18, 1941 2,314,649 Lundvall Mar. 23, 1943 2,360,533 Zeidler Oct. 17, 1944 2,368,824 Geddes Feb. 6, 1945 

